Well, he is getting a lot of fluids (which is great, as they will flush out his system), so he will pee a lot.

That is kind of strange that he doesn't drink water on his own. Not even when you don't add water to his food?? Usually, kidney failure dogs drink tons of water. Wolfie used to get up at night to drink water.

UConnGSD
Wolfgang vom Kolenda (Wolfie) 5/5/08 - 7/24/12 -- You taught me so much, sweet boy To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Well, he is getting a lot of fluids (which is great, as they will flush out his system), so he will pee a lot.

That is kind of strange that he doesn't drink water on his own. Not even when you don't add water to his food?? Usually, kidney failure dogs drink tons of water. Wolfie used to get up at night to drink water.

I tried not adding water once. He still didn't have water. On his off day from IV, he still had no water. Haven't risked not adding water though. As you say it does seem strange.

Had a quick question about these supplements I'm giving Whiskey. Do they slow down creatinine reduction?

You meant "slow down creatinine increase", I'm assuming? If so, yes, they will help. Of course, each dog is different in their response to the supplements. My view is that at the very least, they will not hurt him.

On to your second question, which is the more difficult one. IMHO, there is really no way to know what would be Whiskey's normal, as in will his creatinine plateau at some point. I am afraid that at this point, with Whiskey you might never see his creatinine fall within the normal range set for dogs But from what I have heard of Whiskey, he will live his life to the fullest and that attitude, believe it or not, will pull him through a lot. Regarding the sub-q fluids and how long to continue... this is the reason why many of us ultimately learn how to administer sub-q fluids at home. Once you have one of the vet techs show you how to do it and you do it under their watch a couple of times, it is pretty easy, so long as the dog remains calm. This way, you can do this therapy for the long term.

Another possibility is to go for a supplement called Azodyl. This was extremely helpful for Wolfie, in extending his life and more importantly, in improving his quality of life. It is expensive though, at least here. Azodyl is considered to be like a "dialysis in a pill". Also, Epakitin will help support the kidney function and reduce the phosphorus levels better.

UConnGSD
Wolfgang vom Kolenda (Wolfie) 5/5/08 - 7/24/12 -- You taught me so much, sweet boy To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Thanks a ton Uconn. I think I just got hopeful after the 4.5 to 3.3 drop. It's still scary to think his creatinine might not drop at all, but that's how it goes with renal failure.

As far as Azodyl goes, I've read it needs to be refrigerated. Unfortunately we don't get it here in India so will look for refrigerated shipping options.

A new development has come up. He had some papaya as a snack two days ago which he threw up. Last night he threw up a little bit of sweet potato from his food. He still eats a fairly large amount of food 3 times a day, but doesn't puke that out. Is there any reason why this is happening?

Unfortunately, yes, renal failure is a progressive disease. We measure victory slightly differently in these cases. Victory is when you can get the creatinine level reduced so significantly (like you did with Whiskey). Victory is when you can get the creatinine to stay more or less steady for a decent length of time. You and Whiskey should be proud of what you have achieved together.

No idea why he might be puking out the veggies... any other veggies? Or only those kinds? Sweet potato is great for kidney failure! Are the papaya and sweet potato cooked? Pureed? If they are left chunky, maybe that could be a possible reason??

UConnGSD
Wolfgang vom Kolenda (Wolfie) 5/5/08 - 7/24/12 -- You taught me so much, sweet boy To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

They are chunky but cooked. He's been having them this way for almost a month now, which is why we weren't sure what's happening . I also realised we haven't been giving him any antacids. He's been doing well without it so we've ignored it. Maybe that might help?

He's not vomiting out anything else, right? Other than papaya and sweet potato? In that case, antacids may not be needed at this point. At some point in the future, you will surely need to put him on antacids. But at this stage, I am not sure if this is needed. Unless, the vomiting increases.

I would suggest just omitting the 2 culprits for a few days and observing. If the vomiting goes away, you could try to re-introduce a small portion of either (mashed up with other foods) and see if he holds it down. If the issue re-occurs, I say skip those veggies altogether. With a kidney failure dog, I would be extremely careful about avoiding anything that induces nausea.

Yes, unfortunately, many of the supplements don't taste good. What I do in that case is put a dab of soft cheese or other yummy gooey treat on one of my fingertips, open their mouth, place the supplement in the back of their throat and follow up immediately with the treat. The licking induces them to swallow the supplement.

UConnGSD
Wolfgang vom Kolenda (Wolfie) 5/5/08 - 7/24/12 -- You taught me so much, sweet boy To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the German Shepherd Dog Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.